Grain door



Jan. 24, 1961 B. H. FORD GRAIN DooR Filed April 17, 1957 Inl IJ H h vl :al

PAPER PLASTIC Z /5 /6 f7 I. L .lJUlIInVIT STEEL STRAPj PLAST|c\ l \STEEL STRAP /9 Zai/n, 2M f ATTORNEYS.

GRAIN noon Barton H. Ford, Omaha, Nebr., as's'ig'nonby mesne assignments, of one-half to International Paper Company, vNew York, N.Y., "a corporation." of New Yat-k, andonelialf to The Stanley WorksfN ew Britain,'Con`n';, a corporation of vConnecticut Filed Apr. 17,1957, ASerrNo. 653,497

2 Claims. (Cl. v1611-4368) This invention relates to a grain door or closure for a car door opening. The structure is also applicable to other uses, as, for example, barricades within a car or other vehicle.

In the installation and use of grain doors, a major problem is with respect to the installation of the door `and the firm securing of the door edges to the door frame of the car. It is important that the door be compact so that it may be readily and easily shipped and also that it be installed in a minimum of time and in very secure condition.

An object of the present invention is to provide a prefabricated door which may be shipped so as to occupy a minimum of space while at the same time being readily installed by a single workman. A further object is lto provide a liexible grain door which may be rolled up into a compact bundle and then when opened will provide vertical spreaders or stays enabling the door to be quickly secured in position. A still further object is to provide a. fiapequipped door in combination with rigid vertical side stays which are effective in holding the flap in position upon the door until grain or other granular material has sealed it in place, the vertical stays being effective in maintaining the edges of the tiexible material in contact- Other specitic objects and advan-v with the door frame. tages will appear. as the specification proceeds.

The invention is shown, in an illustrative embodiment, by the accompanying drawing, in which` Figure 1 is afperspective view of a portion of a car providing a car opening, and secured to the frame about the opening is grain door or closure embodyingr'my invention; Fig. :2, an enlarged broken view; Fig'. 3, a sectional detail view, the section being taken as indicated at line 3 3 of Fig. 2; and Fig. 4, a view similar to Fig. 3 but showing a modified form of the invention.

In the illustration given in Figs. 1 to 3, inclusive, A designates a car having side walls 10, a bottom wall 11, and a door frame 12 extending about a door opening 13.

The door panel 14 is formed of strong material which is effective in supporting the weight of granular material. In the specific illustrative panel shown, there is an outer paper layer 15, an inner paper layer 16, and an intermediate plastic layer 17. An extremely sturdy panel 14 may be formed by flowing molten plastic such as polyethylene into contact with the paper sheets 15 and 16 so as to become integrated with the paper sheets and to produce therewith an extremely sturdy composite sheet. Other molten plastics, such as vinyl plastics, ethylene terephthalate, and the copolymers of polyvinyl chloride and polyvinylidene chloride, may be used. Any of the well known plastics may be utilized in combination with the paper or other sheet material for forming a sturdy panel capable of holding a heavy grain load. It wi-ll be understood that the boxcar's are normally provided with storm doo-rs which may be utilized to buttress the 'panel 14 against extreme outward movement. I nd that the paper sheets integrated with the plastic are effective in limiting the expansion of the plastic sheet, and the Genk United States Patent O 2,959,112 Patented Jan. 24, 1961 rice 2 bine'd plastic and paper plies are highly effective in pro- 'v'idii'g I`,a .'s,i1pporting closure for granularmaterial within ter., A. i

' |Between the paper sheets near each end 'of the panel 14, I insert afsteel'stra'p 1,8, preferably provided with nail openings V19, and the strap is firmly bonded between the paperfsheets and is enplosedon either side by the plastic 17. While thestraps 18 4'may in rigidity, I' prefer to employfa strap o f'suii'icient 'stiffness rto support the edges afthepaner k14 'when flieipanei 'is being instales, as 11111'- s 1n 1. This 'permits ythe installer to tack first one of thestrap'sv 18 in position and then the other at the ppositeside of the fratrie, 'and'tliereafter the panel '14 can be secured firmly in position. Normally, nails are driven through the openings in the strap 18 on one side of the frame 12 and then the nails are driven at a slanting angle through the openings in the opposite strap 18 so as to draw the panel taut across the doorway. Preferably, the steel straps 18 extend to the floor 11 so as to hold the flap 20 of the panel 14 in position for receiving the granular material.

If desired, the structure may be formed as illustrated in Fig. 4. In this structure, the panel 14a is formed with an outer paper sheet 15a, an inner paper sheet 16a, and

a central plastic sheet 17a integrated with the paper and extending throughout the panel 14a between the paper sheets. The metal strap 18a is then bonded to the panel 14a by means of adhesive or other suitable means such as stapling, riveting, etc.

Operation In the operation of the door structure, the door, which may be rolled in a bundle or shipped as a body, is placed in the position shown by Fig. 1 by the workman, the two straps 18 serving as a frame for the door as it is placed in position. The two edge straps 18 may be tacked in place, and then the door secured by driving nails through the strap 18 on one side and then through the strap on the other side, the second series of nails being inclined outwardly so as to draw the panel tightly into place. If desired, a headboard 22 may be secured into position, as illustrated in Fig. 1. The installation requires a minimum of time because the steel straps provide side supports for the panel and by driving a nail through a single opening, the panel is held in place on one side of the door and the driving of a nail through the opposite steel strap anchors the entire panel into the position shown in Fig. 1. A single workman can install the door in a matter of minutes, and the door is extremely sturdy by reason of the steel panels incorporated in the edge portions of the door and held by the nails against the frame 12.

If desired, the door panel 14 or 14a may be provided with further reinforcing in the nature of metal straps, plastic ribbing, etc. But by reason of the integrated paper and plastic structure, I find that such reinforcements are ordinarily not needed for the shipping of most granular products. While there is a limited yielding of the door under the pressure of the commodity, the storm door of the boxcar provides a further limit to such movement and the paper-surfaced plastic is effective in permitting ready sliding of the storm door While also protecting the plastic against tearing or abrasion by contact with the sto-rm door.

While, in the foregoing specification, I have set forth a specific structure in considerable detail for the purpose of illustrating an embodiment ot my invention, it will be understood that such details of construction may be varied' widely by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of my invention.

I claim:

'1. In a temporary door closure for railway cars, an elongated plastic sheet having integrated therewith on both sides thereof a paper sheet, the composite sheet thus achieved being suiciently flexible to be rolled on itself, and rigid posts secured to the composite sheet adjacent the traverse edges thereof, said posts being secured to said closure independently of any means employed for securing the closure to a railway car door frame, said posts terminating a spaced distance from one longitudinal edge of the composite sheet to provide an elongated floor flap.

2. In a temporary door closure for railway cars, an elongated plastic sheet having integrated therewith on both sides thereof a paper sheet, the composite sheet thus achieved being sut`n`ciently exible to be rolled on itself, and rigid posts secured to the composite sheet adjacent the transverse edges thereof, said composite sheet being rolled on itself about one of said'posts, said posts terminating short of one longitudinal edge of said composite sheet to provide a ap portion that is adapted to be oriented generally perpendicularly to the unrolled composite sheet,

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,116,260 Corkran May 3, 1938 2,462,309 Dyke Feb. 22, 1949 2,595,087 Leslie Apr. 29, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS 

